ROCK SPRINGS — In the penultimate art exhibition of the academic year, Western Wyoming Community College is excited to host “Shifting Terrain, Mapping Place,” a collection of new works by Utah artist Al Denyer focused on the physical and historical concept of mapping.

Denyer’s exhibition will be on display in the Art Gallery from March 14, through April 25, with a talk by the artist and a reception to follow on April 9. 

Denyer is a professor of painting and drawing, at the University of Utah and first vice-president of SECAC, a national non-profit devoted to research and education in the visual arts. Artistically, Denyer works with and thinks about visual translations of mapping and mark making in her drawing and painting practice. She is a Utah Artist Fellowship Award recipient and has received numerous grants for her ongoing research. Denyer’s work has been shown in many national and international juried and invitational exhibitions, as well as being published in “Manifest INDA,” “New American Paintings” and “Leonardo Magazine.” 

The exhibition will feature some of Denyer’s newer artworks which investigate ‘anti-aliasing imagery.’ Anti-aliasing is a way of using pixels to simplify an otherwise more complicated image, In Denyer’s work, it is implemented as a simplified and cleaned up version of the real. Says Denyer:

“This new body of paintings and drawings, addresses how ‘anti-aliasing’ imagery can be combined with linear mapping information to create in-depth works that represent both the physical, social, and archival aspects of mapping. I am interested in the language of mapping, in particular, how maps can in different ways convey the importance of place,” Denyer said.

The exhibition will be open to the public March 14. Denyer will present an artist talk at Western on April 9, at 4 p.m. in Room 1302, with a reception to follow immediately afterword in the Art Gallery. Works in the exhibition will be available for purchase, and proceeds will be split between the artist and Western’s Art Gallery.